Category Archives: Eco-Fashion

Who continues to breed fashion’s throwaway children? The answers of course are the brands that continuously produce cheap garments. Without calling names, many women continuously buy cheap outfits that tear after one wash. Yet, a minority exists that chooses workmanship instead of trends, which of course falls under sustainability.

Someone who feeds these fashionistas fetishes includes Cameron Silver, the owner of the vintage boutique. With Silver’s Melrose-base Deacades, he offers timeless pieces from the twentieth century. One can find Silver’s orgasmic collection on Hollywood’s constellation and see these stars sashaying on the red carpets. In addition to Hollywood, his clients come from Dubai, Moscow, London and Tokyo. With Silver’s ‘rag and bone’ trade, he is able to influence the runways all over.

Since fashion repeats itself, many designers continue to get their inspiration from Silver’s findings. In 2002, Time Magazine named him as one of “the most influential people in fashion” due to the fact that many designers use his pieces as inspiration for their upcoming seasons. He explains that designers continue embody “hyper stylists” because they just borrow from the past.

Recently, I was able to meet Silver at his showcase at Georgetown’s über-chic boutique Hu’s. He was not only a pleasure to talk too but pleasing to the eyes. In our conversation, he convinced me that even with our throwaway culture, vintage will always serves its place in fashion. He proved his point by explaining that even though his store opened in 1997, he continues to prosper thirteen years later in spite the fickleness of fashionistas.

With Silver choosing sustainability at his core, he is unlikely hero. The reason being that “the process of making clothes –from fibre to the finished product-involves huge amounts of energy, natural resources and thousands of chemical substances that, at best, are harmless and, at worst, extremely dangerous to human and animal health and the environment” according to Matilda Lee’s Eco Chic The Savy Shoppers guide to Ethical Fashion.

Beside the environmental impact of fashion, there are negative human impacts that exist too. Just like the Industrial Revolution in the United States and England, child labor continues to remain common in underdeveloped countries that produce westerners’ clothing. With some designers producing six to eight seasons every year, the under paid workers in under developed countries continue to suffer from the high stress of hazardous working conditions and pressures to meet high demands.

So lets us say cheers to Silver with Pétrus and follow Jackie O’s adage by being timeless and unreplacable through wearing vintage.